Never before had I made an intercontinental flight to see a movie. But that's what I did this month when I accepted Mel Gibson's invitation to preview and critique his new film Apocalypto, scheduled to appear in theaters on December 8th.

I didn't make the trek across the ocean for entertainment value. My work as a consultant on and off the set of Gibson's Passion of the Christ, gave me a new appreciation of the power of well-made, serious, and widely-distributed movies. They influence culture. They affect the way we think about the story they tell. Sometimes they warp our view of history or of humanity. Other times they inform, inspire, and challenge. But they always leave a mark.

Not according to the verified (not anonymous) reports that I've seen. And I've seen the police report, unless it's been amended since the initial (criminal) leak?

That's my entire point. If you want to make this type of attack on someone, at the minimum supply the link to where you got the stuff you're basing it on. Or don't you understand the concept of "the web?"

There's lots of stuff out there that I'm not willing to accept as fact. Particularly when the people peddling it have a clear agenda. Then when others repeat that junk as "fact" I react. If you have any verifiable evidence I'm happy to entertain it. Unsubstantiated character assassination is just crap.

I'm willing to be convinced, but the more anonymous sources I see cited as "proof" the more I doubt the original charges. And I'm particularly bothered when someone states something as bald "fact," "assumed Truth," without any substantiation, and that makes me question those who post them all the more. That may be a question of their motives, their competence or their work ethic, it's all the same to me. Prove me wrong. I actually am anxious for you to do so. This is what I enjoy the most about FR. I want to be proved wrong. The key there is "proved."

44
posted on 10/19/2006 5:00:28 PM PDT
by Phsstpok
(Often wrong, but never in doubt)

"He tells British film magazine Hotdog, "The fear-mongering we depict in the film reminds me of President Bush and his guys"." ~ familyop

He's doing his pentance to get back into the good graces of Hollywood". The evidence:

Bottomline excerpt from item below: "...Last night, a senior Tinseltown studio executive told the Mail: 'Mel Gibson better get down on his knees and eat dirt because he has made some very important enemies.' Indeed, there is already talk that distribution companies and cinemas may be reluctant to take on future Gibson projects because of fears of a backlash from Jewish groups.

And the influential U.S. Jewish Anti-Defamation League has wasted no time wading in to say that his apology is not enough and that Gibson should be ostracised by Hollywood. ....."

"...he unleashed a hate-filled anti-Semitic rant, saying: 'F****** Jews. The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.' ... asked an officer: 'Are you a Jew?' before beginning another four-letter onslaught.

...Last night, a senior Tinseltown studio executive told the Mail: 'Mel Gibson better get down on his knees and eat dirt because he has made some very important enemies.' Indeed, there is already talk that distribution companies and cinemas may be reluctant to take on future Gibson projects because of fears of a backlash from Jewish groups.

And the influential U.S. Jewish Anti-Defamation League has wasted no time wading in to say that his apology is not enough and that Gibson should be ostracised by Hollywood. .....

This is not, it should be said, the first time he has landed in hot water over his hard-line views. He has been pilloried for his outspoken views on homosexuality and his membership of the fundamentalist sect The Traditional Catholic Movement.

HIS uncompromising approach has led him to reveal that he expects Robyn - his wife of 26 years and the mother of his seven children - will go to hell when she dies because she is a member of the Church of England, rather than a Roman Catholic.

...Much of this dogmatic approach can be traced back to Gibson's domineering father, Hutton, now 87, a Biblical scholar who force-fed his ten children his own skewed approach to Catholicism. He condemns the Sixties modernisation of the Church and the ending of the Latin mass, and rejects the legitimacy of all Popes for the past 40 years. Gibson Snr, a New Yorker who relocated his family to Australia when Mel was 12 to avoid his sons being drafted to Vietnam, has also made a string of bizarre public pronouncements, including that burning heretics is an act of 'charity', that the Holocaust never happened and that Al Qaeda had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks on New York.

Hardly surprising, then, that his son, who has steadfastly refused to denounce the majority of his father's propaganda (although he has said he believes the Holocaust did happen), has been tarred with the same brush.

....The pious Gibson immediately invested £5 million in building his own Catholic church in the Agoura Hills, on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

The lavish Holy Family's chapel, which is run by Gibson's Icon production company, has an unlisted phone number and keeps its exact location a secret for fear of becoming the target of unwelcome attention. Those attending services are asked not to divulge any details of their worship or the church's famous benefactor. Women entering are instructed to keep their heads covered at all times.

The couple's children, whose privacy the star has steadfastly sought to protect, are all said to be deeply involved in the Church. Indeed, four years ago their only daughter Hannah, now 25, joined a religious order in America to train as a nun. ..."

btt

46
posted on 10/19/2006 5:08:47 PM PDT
by Matchett-PI
(To have no voice in the Party that always sides with America's enemies is a badge of honor.)

Then follow the link to get a photocopy of the report as it was before the Romans omitted the neo-Nazi speech. Follow the link for that in the following. ...from TMZ (original source of the story and police report copy)...

Gibson's Anti-Semitic Tirade -- Alleged Cover Up

TMZ has learned that Mel Gibson went on a rampage when he was arrested Friday on suspicion of drunk driving, hurling religious epithets. TMZ has also learned that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department had the initial report doctored to keep the real story under wraps.

TMZ has four pages of the original report prepared by the arresting officer in the case, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy James Mee. According to the report, Gibson became agitated after he was stopped on Pacific Coast Highway and told he was to be detained for drunk driving Friday morning in Malibu. The actor began swearing uncontrollably. Gibson repeatedly said, "My life is f****d." Law enforcement sources say the deputy, worried that Gibson might become violent, told the actor that he was supposed to cuff him but would not, as long as Gibson cooperated. As the two stood next to the hood of the patrol car, the deputy asked Gibson to get inside. Deputy Mee then walked over to the passenger door and opened it. The report says Gibson then said, "I'm not going to get in your car," and bolted to his car. The deputy quickly subdued Gibson, cuffed him and put him inside the patrol car.

TMZ has learned that Deputy Mee audiotaped the entire exchange between himself and Gibson, from the time of the traffic stop to the time Gibson was put in the patrol car, and that the tape fully corroborates the written report.

Once inside the car, a source directly connected with the case says Gibson began banging himself against the seat. The report says Gibson told the deputy, "You mother f****r. I'm going to f*** you." The report also says "Gibson almost continually [sic] threatened me saying he 'owns Malibu' and will spend all of his money to 'get even' with me."

The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"

The deputy became alarmed as Gibson's tirade escalated, and called ahead for a sergeant to meet them when they arrived at the station. When they arrived, a sergeant began videotaping Gibson, who noticed the camera and then said, "What the f*** do you think you're doing?"

A law enforcement source says Gibson then noticed another female sergeant and yelled, "What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?"

We're told Gibson took two blood alcohol tests, which were videotaped, and continued saying how "f****d" he was and how he was going to "f***" Deputy Mee.

Gibson was put in a cell with handcuffs on. He said he needed to urinate, and after a few minutes tried manipulating his hands to unzip his pants. Sources say Deputy Mee thought Gibson was going to urinate on the floor of the booking cell and asked someone to take Gibson to the bathroom.

After leaving the bathroom, Gibson then demanded to make a phone call. He was taken to a pay phone and, when he didn't get a dial tone, we're told Gibson threw the receiver against the phone. Deputy Mee then warned Gibson that if he damaged the phone he could be charged with felony vandalism. We're told Gibson was then asked, and refused, to sign the necessary paperwork and was thrown in a detox cell.

Deputy Mee then wrote an eight-page report detailing Gibson's rampage and comments. Sources say the sergeant on duty felt it was too "inflammatory." A lieutenant and captain then got involved and calls were made to Sheriff's headquarters. Sources say Mee was told Gibson's comments would incite a lot of "Jewish hatred," that the situation in Israel was "way too inflammatory." It was mentioned several times that Gibson, who wrote, directed, and produced 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," had incited "anti-Jewish sentiment" and "For a drunk driving arrest, is this really worth all that?"

We're told Deputy Mee was then ordered to write another report, leaving out the incendiary comments and conduct. Sources say Deputy Mee was told the sanitized report would eventually end up in the media and that he could write a supplemental report that contained the redacted information -- a report that would be locked in the watch commander's safe.

Initially, a Sheriff's official told TMZ the arrest occurred "without incident." On Friday night, Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told TMZ: "The L.A. County Sheriff's Department investigation into the arrest of Mr. Gibson on suspicion of driving under the influence will be complete and will contain every factual piece of evidence. Nothing will be sanitized. There was absolutely no favoritism shown to this suspect or any other. When this file is presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney, it will contain everything. Nothing will be left out."

On Saturday, Gibson released the following statement: "After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the LA County Sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person. I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said. Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health."

In an interview aired Friday on ABCs Good Morning America, Gibson also suggested that his statement to police that Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world grew out of his concerns over the violence raging between Israel and Hizbullah in Lebanon at the time. But the 50-year-old star told interviewer Diane Sawyer he was ashamed of the things he said during his July 28 arrest for driving while intoxicated. Asked by Sawyer, What are the Jews responsible for?, Gibson replied, Theyre not blameless in the (Mideast) conflict, then added: Now when youre loaded ... the balance of how you see things comes out the wrong way.

And how exactly is Israel to blame? I'm not surprised he's an admirer of Buchanan going back to 92. Two rotten peas in a pod. Good riddance to both of them. Fools.

Do you understand the concept of "chain of evidence?" How about the simple idea of having a witness or source that can be cross examined? It's really not that hard. Everything out there so far cited as "proof" appears to be worthless.

Think both Richard Jewell and O J Simpson. I don't care whether they are guilty or innocent. I care about what you can prove. TMZ is a BS source and 100% worthless, IMO. That is not something you can challenge. I specifically challenge you on that point. Cite me instances where they have been proven right? I have found none, admittedly with minimal searching. I afford them about the same credibility I do to Democrat Underground. DU is questionable for ideological bias. TMZ, so far as I can tell, is simply questionable. I have never found anything that checked out from them. That's not a lot of instances, but it is a pattern for the ones I've bothered to check out.

So far as has been proved Mel Gibson said nothing that night to anyone. Prove me wrong. Something that would stand up to even simple scrutiny, let alone a court of law.

Otherwise we're wasting our time.

Again, that has zero value for the actual guilt or innocence (or sleaziness) of the folks involved. It only has an affect on what we can prove.

Do you understand the difference? Do you understand that, with evidence, I'm not opposed to your conclusion? I ask only that minor details be addressed, like evidence. I'm sorry if that seems unreasonable to you.

57
posted on 10/19/2006 5:44:22 PM PDT
by Phsstpok
(Often wrong, but never in doubt)

Say what you are saying is that the Father is lying about his review because he loves Mel?????

Lying's probably too strong a word. More like unable to see the warts in a friend's work just like a mother will hold up a mess of scrawls, point to her child and suggest that he has a future in the art world.

Mel has done it again! His film matters. That's my critique of Apocalypto.

Don't get me wrong. This is no sequel to The Passion of the Christ.

Some of his fervent fans will be disappointed if they were hoping for another religious epic. Mel just didn't have it in him. He doesn't see himself as a prophet, a spiritual director, or a religious role model.

But he knows how to make movies, and he has been making good and responsible ones for a very long time.

That's what Mel has done again. He's made a heart-stopping, mythic action-adventure that tells an ancient story in a way that matters.

During the process of releasing the Passion, Mel realized a tremendous hunger in the audience for a different kind of film. Talking about his reasoning for making Apocalypto he said, "People want big stories that say something to them emotionally and touch them spiritually."

Of all of his past films, this one most resembles Braveheart. The only difference is that it takes place in an ancient Mayan jungle, is spoken in the ancient Mayan language, and is represented by a bunch of unknown actors who, for the most part, had never acted before. Oh yeah, and the story is not about Scotland's fight for independence from the Brits, but rather the fight for personal and spiritual independence of a hero who risks his life to free himself from an opulent, but now decaying pre-European Mayan culture.

The protagonist is Juguar Paw (played by newcomer Rudy Youngblood). He is innocent. He is strong. He is in love with his wife, his family, and his traditional culture. In the darkness of an ordinary night, invaders abruptly interrupt his idyllic existence. What ensues is a riveting and relentless chase film that provides a unique context for telling a story about personal and societal survival.

The analogy to our present culture is discreet, but powerful. A society that allows itself to fall apart from within will be unable to withstand threats from without.

Warning: count on a few typical Gibsonian scenes that my sensitivities could have done without (one in particular was unnecessarily vulgar).

I suggest you watch it alone before you take your kids. I took notes as I sat alone in the theatre, as I talked with the producers, and as I've studied the Mayan culture since then. If you like, I'll continue to share some of these notes with you and answer your questions, right here on this blog.

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